Kadena Panthers softball freshman shortstop Carissa Baldwin. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena Panthers softball freshman shortstop Carissa Baldwin. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Zama American Trojans softball sophomore pitcher Brooklinn McElhinney, the hero of the Trojans' run to their first Far East Division II Tournament title last May. (Todd Carver/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki Dragons softball sophomore pitcher/infielder Makyla Herrera. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kelli Wilson refuses to settle. If better is possible, good is not enough, in the Kadena Panthers’ softball coach’s mind.
So it was no surprise after last season’s historic loss in the Okinawa Activities Council district finals to Kubasaki, that the Panthers roared into Far East Division I Tournament with bellies full of motivation and wrested the title from a Seoul American team that stunned Kadena in the 2011 finals.
But if Wilson and the Panthers are to make it two straight D-I titles and three in four years, they’ll have to do it with a youngish roster bereft of last season’s two senior-leader pitchers, Lauren Youngs and Kelly Kaneshiro. Youth prevails on this roster; just three seniors dot the lineup.
“We have a lot of young kids, but that’s what makes it exciting,” said Wilson, in her second season at the Panthers’ helm. “We have the skills we need for a varsity team. My worry is senior leadership that we lost with our pitchers last year.”
Many freshmen, including rising star catcher Asia Abdul and pitcher Bailey Prince, younger sister of baseball player Cody, are expected to make contributions this season, Wilson said.
Newcomers also might play a role in the fortunes of Seoul American, which welcomes sophomore transfer pitcher Robin Galiano, and last year’s D-I runner-up Kubasaki, which promotes sophomore pitcher Makyla Herrera from the junior varsity.
“We’re excited,” said Seoul American’s YunHui Danforth, like Wilson a second year coach. “I hope the girls can compete and hold their own.”
Coach Stephanie Davis and Kubasaki begin their first season in six years without a player named Seamans in the lineup; All-Far East pitcher Shuri Seamans transferred to California for her senior year. “We’re very young this year,” Davis said. The Dragons have already lost twice to Kadena this season.
Another team that likes its chances is Nile C. Kinnick. Coach Katrina Kemper feels the Red Devils, who welcome junior transfer pitcher Kelly Osterbrink from Samoa, are a year older, a year wiser and experienced enough to make a deep run.
Youth also populates reigning Far East Division II Tournament champion Zama American’s roster, although veterans of the 2012 wars, pitchers Silvia Dykstra and D-II Tournament hero Brooklinn McElhinney, return and are joined by pitching newcomer Jolene Ragunton.
Apprised that a repeat title would mean at least a sixth D-II banner won by Zama this school year, new coach Adele Collins said: “I would love that. We have a good chance of that. The girls work really well together. I’m excited. I think we have a good shot at it.”
So, too, do last year’s runner-up Osan American and its DODDS Korea rival Daegu. Each has a new coach, Bryan Morrisey and his infielder daughter Devon at Osan and Ken Walter, Daegu athletics director. The latter welcomes Sarah Wright and Kaitlyn Nott from the Warriors’ soccer team.
This year’s Far East tournaments return to their home of last year, King and MacArthur Fields at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, May 20-22.
